Why does a cold hurt your teeth?

Cold Toothache: Why Clove Oil Helps

Many people have cold-sensitive teeth, so touching cold foods and drinks can cause them to sting. It is unclear why teeth respond to cold with pain. Recent studies have revealed the main effects.

An international research team, including researchers from Friedrich-Alexander-Nürnberg (FAU), Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and several other well-known research institutes, has deciphered the signaling pathways that cold leads to toothache. .. Researchers have also come to the conclusion that clove oil may be suitable for the treatment of cold allergies. The research results were published in a specialized journal.Science Advances“.

Causes of tooth hypersensitivity to cold

Researchers have explained that toothache when exposed to the cold can occur for a number of reasons, including not only tooth holes, but also age-related gum erosion. In addition, cancer patients treated with platinum chemotherapy can be very sensitive to general cold, “a draft of the face is recorded as severe tooth pain,” adds Dr. Jochen Liners of Massachusetts General Hospital. ..

Study in mouse

In a mouse study, researchers sought to determine the cause of toothache when the weather was cold. Mouse molars were punctured under anesthesia to simulate pain. Animals with tooth injuries showed toothache through their behavior. “For example, they drink up to 300% more sugar-sweetened water than littermates without tooth damage,” the researchers report.

Focus on TRCP5 protein

In their further investigation, the research group focused on the function of TRCP5 and its interaction with odontoblasts, a special cell at the boundary between dentin (dentin) and pulp (pulp). This protein is encoded by the TRCP5 gene and is suspected of causing cold pain. Using transgenic mice that do not contain the TRCP5 gene, researchers demonstrate that mice do not show any changes in drinking behavior despite tooth damage and behave like mice without tooth damage. Is done.

Visualization of colds by odontoblasts

According to researchers, the determinant of allergies to cold is the effect of proteins on odontoblasts. “We found that odontoblasts (…) are also a cause of coldness,” confirms Dr. Liners. Specifically, TRCP5 opens channels in the odontoblast membrane in response to cold, allowing other molecules, such as calcium, to penetrate and interact with the cell.

TRCP5 is said to be abundant, for example, in pulpitis, where signals are increased through nerves that exit the roots of the teeth and reach the brain where toothache is observed. “When the gums recede as a result of aging, the tooth blast feels cold in the newly exposed areas of the tooth, which can make the tooth irritable,” the researchers explained.

Final evidence will be presented

Current research provides conclusive evidence that the TRCP5 temperature sensor transmits cold through odontoblasts, activates signal transduction to nerves, and causes pain and hypersensitivity to cold. Liniers says. This sensitivity to cold can be a way to protect damaged teeth from further damage.

“Most cells and tissues slow down metabolism in the presence of cold, so donor organs are placed on ice, but TRPC5 makes cells more active in the cold, and dental cells pass through TRPC5. The ability to detect the cold causes this. The discovery is very exciting, “Lennertz emphasizes. .. The study shows a new function of odontoblasts, “we also know how to intervene in this cold-sensitive function to prevent tooth pain,” experts add.

Clove oil block TRCP5

The research team has set drug discovery goals to reduce dental hypersensitivity to colds, and the active ingredient of eugenol in clove oil also acts to block TRCP5. Clove oil has been used to treat toothache for centuries, but researchers say it could have other uses, such as systemic eugenol treatment for poor circulation after chemotherapy. (Fp)